This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
What factors can mitigate the decline of memory and cognitive function with advancing age, or reduce the chance of developing Alzheimer disease (AD)? Besides “choosing one’s parents wisely”—or settling for a short happy life—a number of experiences that may decrease the rate of cognitive decline have been evaluated, especially education and mental activities. Does more extensive exercise of the mind alter the course of changes in cognitive function, brain structure, neurodegenerative changes, or the risk of AD with advancing age? To what extent is the rate of decline fixed in our genes, or modified by our experiences? How closely is cognitive function in the elderly linked to the structural and neuropathologic appearance of the brain (the “hardware”), or to a lifetime of learning and experience (the “software”)?
In this issue of Neurology®, Koepsell et al.1 report examining a large, multicenter clinical and neuropathologic database of patients with AD, to evaluate the degree to which higher education may modulate the severity of cognitive impairment produced by increasing severity of AD neuropathology. The authors tested the conflicting proposals that, as the neuropathologic changes of AD increase in severity,2–4 the difference in cognitive function (measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]) between patients with higher and lower education would …
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Alert Me
Recommended articles
Education and cognitive reserve in old age
Education, cognitive function, and severity of neuropathology in Alzheimer disease
Neuropathologic comorbidity and cognitive impairment in the Nun and Honolulu-Asia Aging Studies
Neuropsychological changes in asymptomatic persons with Alzheimer disease neuropathology